Review: Supergirl Vol. 2- Sins of the Circle

Quick Summary

Pros: Supergirl’s storyline is appealing throughout the entire collection. The volume delivers and both action and intrigue. The artwork looks good throughout the book.

Cons: Most of the book’s subplots are lackluster. The book’s second half may be confusing for those who haven’t read what is going on in the Superman series.

Overall: This volume achieves several successes but also makes several missteps along the way. Supergirl’s storyline is consistently positive and contains many of the positive elements from the previous book. However, plotlines involving secondary characters are often unappealing and the book’s second half does not read well on its own. All in all, this book will chiefly appeal to those looking to see the results of Supergirl’s mission from the last book.

Story

Supergirl Vol. 2: Sins of the Circle, by Marc Andreyko, continues many of the previous volume’s successes but also contains more problems than before. The best pieces of the book are the plotlines involving Supergirl and her investigation into this comic’s main mysteries. This journey is filled with action, intrigue, and some compelling character development. Unfortunately, plotlines involving most of the comic’s secondary characters are lackluster and the book’s entire second half may be confusing for those who haven’t also read Superman Vol. 2: The Unity Saga: House of El. Together, this mix of positives and negatives create a book that works when it comes to Supergirl but is just alright when it comes to an overarching narrative.

(spoilers start here)

The first half of Sins of the Circle mostly maintains the high quality present in the previous volume. It details a thrilling and engaging adventure that pits Supergirl against several powerful forces. It also digs further into this comic’s main mystery, revealing that Gandelo used Rogol Zaar to facilitate the destruction of Krypton. This volume even adds character development to Kara’s quest, by having her struggle with her own rage and ultimately overcome her desire for vengeance.

The one annoyance in this portion of the book comes from Z’ndr, Supergirl’s latest ally. His character arc here involves turning on his adopted mother and joining Supergirl’s cause after spending little to no time with her at all. His attachment to and general connection with Supergirl almost comes out of nowhere and feels entirely inorganic. Because of this, nearly everything relating to Z’ndr’s subplot ends up dragging the story down.

The second half of Sins of the Circle reunites Supergirl with Superman and Superboy. This brings the confrontation between Supergirl and all of her enemies to a head in pretty epic fashion. I particularly enjoyed her final showdown against Gandelo and Rogol Zaar, as both fights had plenty of emotion and were packed to the brim with intensity.

Unfortunately, this second half narrative is undercut by several negatives. The conclusion to Superman’s fight with Rogol Zaar ends without the epic battle one would expect. Instead, it simply sees Rogol Zaar easily imprisoned by Thanagarians. In addition, this entire portion of the narrative requires knowledge from Superman Vol. 2: The Unity Saga: House of El in order to not be confusing. Supergirl’s storyline is still highly appealing but these flaws damage the other plotlines running through this portion of the book.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Unlike the story, the art in Sins of the Circle remains appealing throughout the book. Kevin Maguire’s visuals look every bit as good as they did in the previous volume. Together with bright and beautiful colors from FCO Plascencia and Chris Sotomayor, they give this volume a crisp and clean style that works really well with the story being told. In addition, the first few chapters contain work from Eduardo Pansica that looks nearly as good. These chapters are not as crisp and clean as the chapters from Maguire but still contain a bombastic sense of energy that pairs well with this comic. Overall, the visuals here look nice and complement the events of this book.

Continuity

Supergirl Vol. 2: Sins of the Circle continues the story from Supergirl Vol. 1: The Killers of Krypton (Review).

The story here continues in Supergirl Vol. 3: Infectious (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• The conclusion of Supergirl #30 and the entirety of Supergirl #31 take place concurrently with the conclusion of Superman #11 and the entirety of Superman #12 respectively. Both of these Superman issues are collected in Superman Vol. 2: The Unity Saga: House of El.
• Lex Luthor’s appearance in Supergirl #32 is a tie-in to the Year of the Villain (Review) event.
• Supergirl #33 takes place concurrently with Superman #14, collected in Superman Vol. 2: The Unity Saga: House of El.